Yes, now there's a micro pig cafe

For one weekend in May, a venue in the city's hispter-infested eastern burbs is offering hands-on hog time with pocket-sized porkers.

The ticket-only "Pignic" will allow guests to experience what it's like to trough down with the animals.

And no, there won't be bacon on the menu.

Though it may sound like an absurd new trend -- we're looking at you Moomin Cafes -- the Pignic (based in The Proud Archivist cafe, 2-10 Hertford Road, London; +44 2035982626) claims to have a serious purpose.

Organized by listings website Yelp in conjunction with animal charities and welfare groups, it's billed as an attempt to educate would-be pig owners about what to expect alongside the pitter-patter of tiny trotters.

Yelp's Alex Shebar says he came up with the concept after hearing about how a trend for micro pigs, spurred by celebs such as Paris Hilton, resulted in abandoned animals.

Often sold as "teacup pigs" because of their diminutive size at birth, most grow to the size of a large dog, much to the horror of some ill-informed owners.

"London has had this love affair with animal cafes recently -- cat cafes and owl cafes -- and at Yelp I'm trying to get people to further explore their city, so I thought this would be an interesting way to do it," Shebar said.

"Then I read about this trend of abandoning micro pigs, it really upset me. So I thought we could do something that combined this love of animal cafes with educating people about the needs of the pigs."

Yelp says the £30-a-ticket event ($45) has proved popular, with scores of people signing up in the hope of snagging a place on one of the five days from May 21-25.

There are no plans for any further Pignics, but Shebar says it might happen.